INSTALOVE
Rafe New York Spring / Summer 2024 at F/ROW in Los Angeles
Can I tell you about the Rafe New York Spring campaign shoot in South Beach, Miami.
From Ocean Drive to the Botanical Garden, the city’s most defining aesthetics provided perfect backdrops for the season’s new designs.
Can I tell you about Alessandra Perez-Rubio. She’s the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Mestiza, a vintage-inspired ready-to-wear and accessories collection that is thoughtfully designed to give women a polished, timeless and chic look, for any occasion.
Can I tell you about…Jamie Henderson. She’s my second cousin but we only met a couple of years ago while I was in Los Angeles for an event. A few months later she came to New York for a girls weekend and we got to know each other more. I designed the handwoven leather #JamieEnvelopeClutch with her in mind; always on the go and always needing the option to go from day to night.
Can I Tell You About the Rafe Spring / Summer 2025 collection.
South Beach, Miami, a tropical paradise that elicits visions of sultry days on the beach and hedonistic nights, has always been one of my favorite winter escapes. It’s as close as I can get to the tropics within a few hours flight from New York. And every chance I get, I take it
Can I tell you about Joanna Preysler. We met over 30 years when I was a fashin designer in the Philippines. Recently, we’ve been reacquainted through her social media and our mutual friend Dawn Zulueta. She’s a wife, a mother and an entrepreneur. She and her husband Raul Francisco founded Provenance Art Gallery and 8Rooms Creative Space in Manila showcasing Filipino artists and mentoring emerging tale
Can I tell you, we all know that feeling you have when you meet someone and you just know you’re going to get along. That’s exactly how I felt when I met Alessandra years ago. We have a shared heritage and it’s something we are very proud of. We just get each other.
For a summer away from New York City, it might seem like there’s no better destination than the Hamptons. If it were up to Rafé Totengco, however, he’d tell you that being there would feel as if you hadn’t even left Manhattan. “I mean, it really is a fabulous location,” he says, but “I’m just not there.” On the weekends, the Rafé New York designer would rather be on the peninsula opposite the Hamptons, up in the North Fork. “I swear to you, your trip will feel so different if you just go away for two days. Just come out,” he urges, reenacting the convincing he had to do to get a few of his friends to come and visit. “Just come and see it for what it is, and you’ll see. You’ll come back.”
Can I Tell You…about Aya Abesamis. We started following each other on Instagram last year but we recently finally met in person. I knew of Aya because her parents were fashion models and contemporaries of my sisters back in the Philippines in the 1980s.
In setting out to design any collection, Rafe Totengco prefers to work off a feeling.
With his brand Rafé New York, the designer has carved out a niche in the clutches and evening bags sect of fashion. He attributes its global acclaim to one sentiment: anyone can carry a Rafé bag. Over an illustrious two-decade-long career, he notes a sizeable shift in the landscape that mirrors this attitude, with trends that transcend any one type of person—so long as it fits their tastes.
RAFE DOCUMENTS THE MAKING OF THE ICONIC AND EXTRAORDINARY MINAUDIERE.
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RAFE NEW YORK SPRING / SUMMER 2024 COLLECTION AT F/ROW LA FASHION WEEK.
Can I tell you I first met Ayesha back in 2016 when ARK honored me at their fundraiser gala in New York. Since then we have become friends and I have helped her with some creative input with last year’s event. She is a force of nature; bubbling with energy, overflowing with ideas and optimism that is inspiring to be around.